Underacheivers in rugby league

[SpaceMonkey]

Geez, there's a name. The year they made their first GF, that guy was the best forward in the world. If I can recall correctly, less than 12 months later he went to SL but his NRL form severely diminished the follow up to his ground breaking season.

What did the Warriors do to him?

He got sidelined for pretty much all of 2003 with an injury (had a bone cyst removed from his arm) then came back in 2004 when the while team was pretty much imploding. In hindsight he was probably the first scapegoat for the teams horrible form loss that year.

 

[Mr Saab]

Milton Thaiday....how can you forget him!

M Johns talking him up for NSW origin after like 4-5 games when in fact he was a QLDr....and millions to play origin anyway.

Ahhhh the days of Johns and Harragon vomiting newcastle bias every time they opened their mouths.....i dont miss it

 

[vvvrulz]

He got sidelined for pretty much all of 2003 with an injury (had a bone cyst removed from his arm) then came back in 2004 when the while team was pretty much imploding. In hindsight he was probably the first scapegoat for the teams horrible form loss that year.

An unfair scapegoat, I remember the beginning of 04 and Ali wasn't doing a whole lot wrong. He wasn't great but he was just having a few rocks and diamonds days like Mateo and Inu would. The likes of Faumuina were much much worse and he somehow stuck around.

 

[canberra_raiders2k2]

Mark Mclinden. Should have been a raiders great..

 

[kmav23]

Cronulla

 

[Nugget10]

Nigel Gaffy

Barry Ward

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

An unfair scapegoat, I remember the beginning of 04 and Ali wasn't doing a whole lot wrong. He wasn't great but he was just having a few rocks and diamonds days like Mateo and Inu would. The likes of Faumuina were much much worse and he somehow stuck around.

Hate to be disagreeing with you left, right and centre but.....

Faumuina was arguably our best player over about the 2003-2006 period. At times circa 05-06 in particular he was often carrying the team and was the only genuine attacking threat.

He was sacked for behavioural issues, not on-field stuff.

On the other hand Toopi from 2004-2006, although he also had off-field issues, was basically a shit footballer who we let go because he stunk.

Back in those days I was known as a Toopi hater (even when people thought he was good) but I'm talking about Toopi's decline, and it was definitely popular consensus (not just me) that he went to shit as a player.

Apparently Faumuina was terrible at the Cowboys but he wasn't at the Warriors.

 

[Raider_69]

Can Greg Waddell get a guernsey?
The teenage sensation, next Brad Fittler and never played a single game of FG

 

[rabbitohs95]

Can Greg Waddell get a guernsey?
The teenage sensation, next Brad Fittler and never played a single game of FG

Poor bastard's cruelled with injuries, even a move to Souths couldn't fix his problems...

 

[vvvrulz]

Hate to be disagreeing with you left, right and centre but.....

Faumuina was arguably our best player over about the 2003-2006 period. At times circa 05-06 in particular he was often carrying the team and was the only genuine attacking threat.

From what I remember Faumuina had a very good year in 2003 but he really fell away big time in 2004 and didn't do anything for large parts of that season. That's what I was referring to, the times when Laui'ititi got sacked. He picked up again in 05, 06 but was never as good as he was in 03.

I was also referring to his off field behaviour and the general smug attitude, which got tolerated for much longer than it should have. Ali seemed like a genuine guy and it was weird seeing him made the scapegoat.

We can always agree to disagree haha.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

From what I remember Faumuina had a very good year in 2003 but he really fell away big time in 2004 and didn't do anything for large parts of that season. That's what I was referring to, the times when Laui'ititi got sacked. He picked up again in 05, 06 but was never as good as he was in 03.

I was also referring to his off field behaviour and the general smug attitude, which got tolerated for much longer than it should have. Ali seemed like a genuine guy and it was weird seeing him made the scapegoat.

We can always agree to disagree haha.

Definitely agree on Ali. I find it hard to remember much positive at all about 2004. 2005/06 Faumuina was really good and played more as a leader, often asked to play out of position in the halves but usually did a job. I just remember him playing with a lot of fire in those years.

Toopi hardly did anything positive after 2003 except somehow scored a (second!) hattrick against Australia in 2005 in a game he was only picked for because of multiple injuries to other players.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

^You and I were the only cats who recognized how shit Toopi really was.

 

[Son of Minto]

Can Greg Waddell get a guernsey?
The teenage sensation, next Brad Fittler and never played a single game of FG

Lets hope the same doesnt happen to "the next Andrew Johns" Luke Brooks. How many "next Andrew Johns" have there been since he retired anyway? Werent people calling Ryan Stig the next Brad Fittler as well? :lol:

 

[captainwarrior]

Definitely agree on Ali. I find it hard to remember much positive at all about 2004. 2005/06 Faumuina was really good and played more as a leader, often asked to play out of position in the halves but usually did a job. I just remember him playing with a lot of fire in those years.

Toopi hardly did anything positive after 2003 except somehow scored a (second!) hattrick against Australia in 2005 in a game he was only picked for because of multiple injuries to other players.

On Faumuina, they should of let him go a year before they sacked him. From memory he wanted to leave when Jones, Meli, Feka, Ali, Fa'afili and majority of the 2002-03 team did. But the club assured him he'd be the #1 player for them and they'd build the club around him. So he stayed, then after Round 1 he got suspended and they put Ropati in there and he never got another chance at #6 and that's when he started to rebel against the club so they'd let him go.

I can't remember if that story is correct but I'm sure I heard that somewhere.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

Kirk Reynoldson.

 

[Horrie Is God]

Brett Papworth deserves a spot..

He was touted as "The White Mark Ella" when we signed him from yawnion..

He played a total of 7 first grade games over a 5 year span..

He'd sneeze & break a rib..

He was less durable than Ryan "Quentin" Cross..

There was a billboard at the SFS promoting Toyota Hi Lux's that said "Even Papworth couldn't break this"..

 

[miănfèinàn]

Ian Russell - steelers , should have been a rep player

Russell certainly underachieved: in the early 1990s he was one of the most skilful and toughest back-row forwards in the game, but he had problems with injuries and not being able to regain his place in 1994 when the Steelers’ established backrowers Piccinelli, Cross and Andrew Farrar were doing too well. There in an article about him as the “forgotten man” in the Sydney Morning Herald of 1994.

Craig Innes - could've been so much more

Innes actually returned to union at the end of 1997, so it’s hard to say he underachieved in his short period playing league at Manly, for whom he was briefly the best centre in the game.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

On Faumuina, they should of let him go a year before they sacked him. From memory he wanted to leave when Jones, Meli, Feka, Ali, Fa'afili and majority of the 2002-03 team did. But the club assured him he'd be the #1 player for them and they'd build the club around him. So he stayed, then after Round 1 he got suspended and they put Ropati in there and he never got another chance at #6 and that's when he started to rebel against the club so they'd let him go.

I can't remember if that story is correct but I'm sure I heard that somewhere.

Good point. Jones, Meli, Feka all left end of 2005 (i.e. just before Cleary came in).

As you say, the club would've assured him that he was going to be the #1 player, because he was outstanding in 2005. I'd totally forgotten this but he also took up a 2 game contract with Hull just for the finals in 2005. This was at the same as Andrew Johns took up a similar short term deal with Warrington so gives an indication of how Faumuina was perceived at the time.

After that he was sacked from 3 different clubs for alcohol issues between 2006-2009 :crazy:

 

[PinkPanther]

Jordan Rankin.

x100